Two-Eyed Seeing for Parents: Developing an App for Parents in the syilx Okanagan First Nation

This paper describes development of an offline app entitled Two-Eyed Seeing for Parents, which promotes syilx Okanagan Territory parents’ knowledge, confidence, and cultural practices for supporting optimal infant development, including exposure to their traditional language (nsyilxcən). “Two-Eyed Seeing” blends Indigenous and Western epistemic principles (syilx traditions complemented and supported by evidence-based content). Elders, members of the səxʷkn̓xitəlx k̓l̓ c̓əc̓málaʔ Early Years Table, and University of British Columbia researchers partnered to develop the offline app. The Table is committed to improving the well-being of syilx Okanagan Territory children. An Elder representing the Table signed a university cooperative research protocol agreement with one researcher. The agreement required signatories to adhere to principles of free, prior, and informed consent and Indigenous ownership, control, access, and possession and specified that the səxʷkn̓xitəlx k̓l̓ c̓əc̓málaʔ Early Years Table retained the exclusive ownership of and right to reproduce Indigenous knowledge in the app. Elders decided on content and organization of the app and crafted additional information to reflect community priorities. The content incorporates some elements of SmartParent, an evidence-based online SMS app. The offline app clusters resources by months of infants’ first years of life and by topic (including parents’ and infants’ emotional, physical, and spiritual needs, and mental and physical aspects of parenting). It contains original recordings of nsyilxcən language and extensive First Nations materials. Memotext created the app architecture. Elders and Table Members approved the final offline app version. The app offers syilx parents continuous access to culturally grounded information and overcomes problems with Internet access and prohibitive data costs to access links.